A closely watched index of U.S. manufacturing fell last month. Airlines stocks slid as investors feared that news of the first Ebola case in the U.S. might discourage travel. American Airlines and Delta each fell 3 percent.

Still, the market remains close to all-time highs reached last month.

Government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.41 percent from 2.49 Tuesday.